A final, and very important, thankyou.

 www.chalkboardkenya.org

The deadline has drawn to a close on our crowd-funding campaign. The buck doesn't stop there though, as we are definitely going over to Kenya, thanks to two very special people who have sat through the last month with patience and generosity and who have not been thanked yet. Curtis and Stu have so wonderfully encouraged us to do something that is both exciting and scary. They have pushed us during our daily doubts and eased our stress when flights and other bills need to be settled immediately, and we have empty bank accounts. But not only that, they have done this all after a year of us being so involved, emotional, stressed and erratic and maybe a little self-absorbed, whilst we tackle the infamous Master of Teaching. We may not be Masters just yet but we think we know a thing or two and what we are sure about is that the orphans at Mama's are lucky these guys live in this world.

So what a journey and we haven't even left for Kenya yet! Over the course of the last 30 days we have had our friends & family who have so much going on in their own lives support us with Likes, Shares and words of encouragement when they can sense our want to give up and throw it all in. Thankyou especially to those wonderful few that have been there by our side every day consistently, filling up your timeline with our links to encourage your own network to contribute to our campaign. You know who you are. :)

We have also seen that it is those that have less that often give more. When you receive an email to notify you of a contribution from someone you know has their own big expenses such as children and medical bills, or lives off a single income, it is a very grounding experience. Again, you guys know who you are, and we cannot express how eternally grateful we are.

Finally, for anyone who is thinking about fundraising for a cause close to your heart I want to let you know that asking for money is rewarding when you have wins, but it is undeniably exhausting. I went into this thinking it would be easy, because surely everyone understands that these orphans should be able to realise their human right to an education and will have some money to spare? I was wrong, because not everyone is convinced of that, or their passion in charity lies for a different fantastic cause. And some of those that do share your ideas simply cannot spare any money because let's face it, times are tough at home too.

There were moments in the middle of the day where I had to go back to bed because of the splitting pain in my temples from the stress of it all. Time spent not asking for money was spent thinking about other ways I could get money so I didn't have to ask for money. Remember this the next time you pass someone on the street who needs a few spare coins. I have no doubt it is something that Lena and I will never forget.

We didn't quite reach our goal but we feel very lucky and very humble for what we have achieved. $2420 in contributions plus money raised at the fundraising dinner makes an enormous difference in planning this project. Thank you again and forever to everyone who has contributed and supported us throughout this. We'll keep you all up to date when we are over there, but there is a chance we might fall off the grid at times, given the remoteness of where we will be. And if we don't see you before we go - catch you on the other side in late Feb!

So You Want to Teach in Kenya Pt V - Let's get real & talk dollars.

Students at Mama Children's Orphanage

Let's talk dollars.

Given we've dropped over a cool $1500 on vaccinations in the last 7 days, I thought it would be timely for our contributors, and potential contributors, to see exactly where there hard earned dollars are being spent.

Vaccinations - $1500
Visas - $110 plus $30 in secure postage for our passports
Accommodation & food for 6 weeks - $3900
Flights - $4400
Total so far - $9940

Crowd-funding target - $6500

Savings & borrowings to cover the difference - $3440

Typing that still makes me feel a little queasy!

When we first agreed to teach in Kenya, we estimated the costs to be around $8500. But typically, as with many holidays, the expenses grew. We're not prepared to back out of our commitment though - these children deserve access to education, its their human right.

So far we have raised $1125 thanks to some amazing contributors, of which many I know have like us been unable to work this year due to our intensive teaching & study schedule.

But we are still very much in the red with just 14 days to go! Can we make it?! Help us and make your contribution to the human rights of some very deserving people > http://bit.ly/excursiontokenya

So You Want to Teach in Kenya Pt IV - World Aids Day 2014

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I drove past this impressive installation in the city last night, realising that for the first time on the 3rd of January when we arrive at the orphanage will I knowingly work with someone who is HIV positive. Not just one someone, many someones, all of which are under the age of 18.

How lucky am I that my friends and family have not yet been touched by this epidemic. Regardless, like I will be, draw inspiration from todays successful events around the country for #wad2014 and do what you can here at home to help fight it with the right scientific research. This incredibly well-written comment by Australian writer and HIV activist Nic Holas gives you a simple non-monetary way to get started. He suggests that when 'we stop looking, we stop caring'. If you care but don't know where to look, take the first step and inform yourself with the facts about HIV.

So what has this got to do with teaching in Busia, Kenya?

Kenya has the fourth-largest HIV epidemic in the world. There are 1.1 million orphans to the epidemic, of which many now live with HIV. Mama's Childrens Orphanage homes some of these orphans that I will very soon teach.

My concerns lie not just within the present but also in the future for these children. They need access to the right treatment, care and support services to ensure a healthy and happy life into adulthood. They need to avoid HIV-related death. To seek they don't necessarily need money, but they definitely need knowledge. Knowledge comes from receiving what you have a human right to - an education.

We did it! We reached over $1,000 in donations by the 1st of December. There's still a long way to go. Contribute now to ensure these kids don't miss out on 6 weeks of schooling in January > http://bit.ly/excursiontokenya

So You Want to Teach in Kenya Pt III - Why don't you just pay for it yourself?

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So here's the post for those of you who have thought this, but were too scared to ask.

Look, we're totally cool with people thinking this. Why crowd fund when you can work hard and save the money to go over there?

To begin, let's be realistic. Once we are full time teachers, trips like this will no longer be feasible. Not only will we be short on time to go to Kenya, its highly unlikely we will spend our holidays doing our vocation. Teaching is EXHAUSTING. That's the honest truth. These kids rely on people like Lena and I who have not yet started full time teaching and still have the time and the new-teacher energy to embark on this journey.

How did this trip even come about? At the beginning of the year we were not planning to go to Kenya. Halfway through the year, we were not planning to go to Kenya. It wasn't until we were beginning our second round of student teacher placements did Chalkboard Kenya approach University of Melbourne teacher candidates about their project.

I have never thought about travelling to Africa, or at least not anytime in the near future. Something drew me to this project though. I applied, and got in. Lena and I got talking about it and I encouraged her to apply. She got in!

Getting over there is our current challenge. Having been unable to work more than a day a week whilst we tackled the notoriously hectic Master of Teaching meant there was little opportunity to save any dollars this year. In fact, savings accounts dwindled down to $0. This year was about survival; (barely) living off Austudy whilst smashing out assignments and fending off nervous breakdowns along the way.

The biggest challenges lie ahead. In response to someone suggesting that by crowd funding this trip we are 'white people crowd funding our holiday' (which by the way, I won't even address what the colour of our skin has to do with the price of fish), our friend Nick, a new teacher from our course said;

'If you think that teaching classes of students who speak a different language in a place completely unfamiliar to you with limited resources, while experiencing culture shock, and grappling with learning theories and behaviour management strategies in your first year out as a teacher sounds like a holiday, then maybe you should do it too!'

This experience is without a doubt a once in a lifetime opportunity for two new teachers that have an avid interest in the human rights of children, the wellbeing of children and the equal access to a good education that everyone should have despite your social, cultural and economic demographic. But let's not pretend it is going to be anything like a holiday.

We are not asking for you to pay for us to experience Kenya, we are asking you to pay for these children to have access to an education for 5 weeks in January.

We don't expect a free ride. Our planned holidays in 2015 have been cancelled. Clothes, big nights out and any sort of luxuries are now our contraband. We are living as tightly as possible and working as much as possible to earn money to go towards the trip. We still need more help though, and that's where you generous souls come in.

If you agree and want to give a little something to these kids who have already lost so much, show your support! Our crowd funding campaign is here > http://bit.ly/excursiontokenya

So You Want to Teach in Kenya Pt II - Let's talk about Ebola

Hello there,

Thanks for joining me again. Today let's talk about the risk of catching Ebola in Kenya. This has easily been the most-asked topic I have discussed with friends and family to date.

So will Lena & I contract Ebola when we are in Kenya? The answer is: it is very unlikely.

Ebola is a devastating virus has taken the lives of thousands of West Africans. This Getty image taken from this BBC News article shows you where these deaths have taken place.

This is where Liberia, Sierra Leone & Guinea are in Western Africa:

image source

Kenya sits on the eastern side of Africa, as this map demonstrates:

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And the Kenyan government are on high alert for any visitors to Kenya who might be spreading the virus as this reassuring article reports.

Further, not only is the orphanage located on the other side of Africa, across the width of a continent, it is also in a remote village called Busia which is over 400kms from Kenya's capital of Nairobi where travellers from outside Kenya arrive at the Jomo Kenyatta International Airport.

So whilst we will of course exercise a high degree of caution whilst in Kenya, it is very unlikely we will come into contact with anyone carrying the Ebola virus.

Use your concern about Ebola to help with the crisis! Sign this petition to Julie Bishop!

We have just added $1 and $5 perks to our campaign. Virtual hugs and personalised 'with thanks' for your contribution. Support us here > http://www.bit.ly/excursiontokenya

So You Want to Teach in Kenya Pt I

Image source

Telling people I want to teach in Kenya has been met with a range of reactions. Many have been excited and many have also been wary, with concerns for my safety and wellbeing. These concerns are all valid, when what we read online and see in the media about Africa can be quite confronting at times.

The questions I have been asked so far are not dissimilar, so I thought what better platform to answer these and debunk some myths about Kenya using my dusty old blog. I'll do this over a series of blog posts and I will cover topics such as the risk of contracting Ebola, political unrest in Africa, safety for females, working with children with HIV, as well as any other questions I receive along the way.

Today let’s talk about this: why teach disadvantaged kids overseas when there are so many here in Australia?

Firstly, and put simply, the timing to go couldn't be any better. It happens to be before the start of the Australian school year, which means I will be back in time to teach in Australia in 2015.

Secondly, you're absolutely right, there are many disadvantaged students in Australia and they are the reason why I started my Master of Teaching. I'm interested in how we can improve education inequality for students from low socio economic backgrounds within Australia and in particular, our indigenous kids. If you feel the same, I recommend you like the Australian Literacy and Numeracy Foundation on Facebook to keep up to date with their local campaigns.

And finally, this experience can only benefit the research I will undertake to help close the gap in educational disadvantage for students in Australia. Within the classroom, surely a well-travelled, worldly art teacher can only be a good thing? Essentially, not only will this experience benefit the children at Mama Children's Orphanage, it will benefit students in Australia on a totally different level.

Lao Tzu once said "A journey of a thousand miles must begin with a single step." What a tremendous, but important, first step to take on my journey to become a teacher.

We know this trip is not for everyone, but there is no denying that someone has to make sure that these children receive their human right to an education. Thankfully the orphanage works diligently to make sure these students can learn from teachers around the world. But its not easy for them to get people to commit. From the thousands of teacher candidates contacted in Australia, only 3 have signed up to teach these kids for these 5 weeks from January.

Lena and I want to help in a small way. If you're interested in helping us get over to Kenya and in turn help these inspiring young people, then any contribution would be greatly appreciated. We offer some awesome perks at our crowd funding page here www.bit.ly/excursiontokenya and every contribution from $1 up receives a big virtual hug from us.

Alain de Botton

Pop philosopher, Alain de Botton, has set up the School of Life temporarily in Melbourne. Apart from the uplifting feeling their classes will no doubt give you, the postcards available in the shop are most definitely fridge-worthy. Get yourself there before the school term ends on the 24th of March.

David LaChapelle

'...hyper-realistic aesthetic with social messages.' - David LaChapelle on Wikipedia

Hello 2013.

Its been a while indeed. 

But definitely time to get back on the blogging wagon, this time with a new perspective and some interesting stories from the last 12 months. 

Things are going to be different this year. In a good way, I can feel it. 

In the meantime, some words from existentialist philosopher, Simone de Beauvoir to get us started.

Image from The School of Life

BBS

Peppery Sparrow is undergoing a little facelift... she'll be back soon!

William Eggleston

Thoroughly enjoyed this easy to read essay on William Eggleston, the man behind the 'Democratic Camera'. Here's a snippet;

In an attempt to summarize the basic philosophy behind The Democratic Forest, William Eggleston once stated, ‘I had this notion of what I called a democratic way of looking around: that nothing was more important or less important.’  As the recent retrospective at the Whitney, ‘William Eggleston: Democratic Camera – Photographs and Video, 1961-2008’, attests, such a perspective was not intended as a particularly rebellious or directly political attack on established hierarchies (after all, this is a gentleman who, despite his hell-raiser reputation, takes great pride in the fact that he has never owned a pair of blue jeans).  Instead, Eggleston’s ‘democratic’ outlook is a rather traditional and thoroughly romantic understanding of the artist as, quite literally, a visionary, who can summon something out of nothing, or conversely, distil a fundamental essence from the chaos of everything.  Over the course of nearly fifty years, Eggleston has shown that through the medium of photography, time, light, the physical world, and most famously color can be composed in such a way that it not only mesmerizes an audience visually, but also affects each individual emotionally, often in a profoundly subtle, primal and breathtaking manner. 

101 Cookbooks

After 3 wins in the kitchen this wintery public holiday (ok only 2.5, the broccoli soup is still on the stove), I've been inspired to rediscover my cooking mojo. 

Every day at my desk attempting to solve the ongoing quandary that is working out my next career step, I take a quick break to look outside the window where our pomegranate tree sits. Today, completing said daily daydreaming ritual (whereby I invent something so great that I make millions in royalties thus never having to work again), I Googled 'pomegranate recipes' which lead me to 101 Cookbooks. What a site for the culinary kings and queens out there! Its pretty damn aesthetically pleasing too. 

With this blog safely bookmarked and living just a stone's throw from Blackhearts & Sparrows Wine Purveyors, I guess my winter nights are sorted.

Rhi Ellis

There's a hell of a lot of photographers out there, and with digital cameras plus the web, contemporary photography is much more accessible than it used to be. Like any art, photography is subjective. However its still a challenge to find an artistic photographer that makes you stop and look through their whole folio. Rhi Ellis is one of them, for me, anyway. Found via Miss Moss.

Interior Vouyerism for the Men.

I'm quite guilty of posting interiors that only I like. I'll pay you that if you thought it. In my defense (a line I've heard before!), I have considered how a male delegates the intricacies of moving in with a design-focused lass. Poor Stu has to deal with this and we don't even live with eachother. He deals with my constant questioning of his home's interior design. E.g.'I think you should put that over there' and 'what is that?' and 'I tidied up the cushions'.

I'm yet to solve that quandry, the one that is when the female and the male must collaborate their interior desires, but in the meantime let me showcase some drool-worthy bachelor pads via Frankie via Slanted Mansion.

Open your eyes and see the beauty.

There's something to be said about art on the walls of your home. Its creating talking points, inspires, adds colour and happiness to any room. One day I'll have a home of my own covered in pictures.

I'm not one to put my own art up on the walls, I think it makes me a little uncomfortable, so instead I've spent hours, days, week, months and even years perusing op-shops, eBay, small galleries and friend's folios looking for new pics to adorn my walls with. I'm pretty proud of my growing collection.

Recently I had the delight (where is that sarcasm font when you need it) of scouring Gumtree for share properties to move into. Being the particularly fussy person I am, one thing that put me off most places was the lack of eye candy in the common rooms. As superficial as it sounds, I need to be surrounded by attractive objects and colour in order to feel comfortable and inspired. These are the things that I believe make a home - a house that displays the personality of its inhabitants.

So finding an awesome Eames sideboard for $0.99 might be one for the old hats, but surely a few pictures on the wall can't be that hard?

The problem that a lot of people struggle with is the notion that you have to spend big bucks for a good pic. But thanks to advances in the world of print production (re: mass production) and the interwebs, you can find gorgeous images by artists across the world at affordable prices.

From there, you don't need to spend the hundreds of dollars you saved on getting them framed professionally, simply go to an op-shop and buy an old print you don't like but comes with a cute antique frame, invest in some mountboard, a good stanley knife or scalpel & a cutting mat. Can't be bothered with that? Check out Ikea and $2 shops for cheap frames and stick to simple colours like dark brown, white or black.

To get you started (should you accept this challenge) I've post a selection from Urban Outfitters' print shop.

A Vintage Isotype

Give me a number and I'm sure to turn it around and upside down. I'm definitely more a words and pictures kinda gal. Stating the obvious? Probably.

This morning I was reminded just how much I appreciate a classic isotype chart by Brainpickings. Pictures? Animals? Vintage? I'm in heaven.

In the summertime.

In the summertime when the weather is high, you can chase right up and touch the sky. But not so much in Melbourne anymore, Mungo Jerry. Its hard to believe that just earlier this week I took these photos on Collingwood to test the light, and now I'm drinking coffee and avoiding the outdoors to stay warm. And so we welcome Autumn, yet again in chilly Melbourne. I think its time to finally get around to making some Mulled Wine.

The 100% Perfect Girl

On seeing the 100% perfect girl one beautiful April morning.

One beautiful April morning, on a narrow side street in Tokyo's fashionable Harujuku neighborhood, I walked past the 100% perfect girl. Tell you the truth, she's not that good-looking. She doesn't stand out in any way. Her clothes are nothing special. The back of her hair is still bent out of shape from sleep. She isn't young, either - must be near thirty, not even close to a "girl," properly speaking. But still, I know from fifty yards away: She's the 100% perfect girl for me. The moment I see her, there's a rumbling in my chest, and my mouth is as dry as a desert. Maybe you have your own particular favorite type of girl - one with slim ankles, say, or big eyes, or graceful fingers, or you're drawn for no good reason to girls who take their time with every meal. I have my own preferences, of course. Sometimes in a restaurant I'll catch myself staring at the girl at the next table to mine because I like the shape of her nose. But no one can insist that his 100% perfect girl correspond to some preconceived type. Much as I like noses, I can't recall the shape of hers - or even if she had one. All I can remember for sure is that she was no great beauty. It's weird. "Yesterday on the street I passed the 100% girl," I tell someone. "Yeah?" he says. "Good-looking?" "Not really." "Your favorite type, then?" "I don't know. I can't seem to remember anything about her - the shape of her eyes or the size of her breasts." "Strange." "Yeah. Strange." "So anyhow," he says, already bored, "what did you do? Talk to her? Follow her?" "Nah. Just passed her on the street." She's walking east to west, and I west to east. It's a really nice April morning. Wish I could talk to her. Half an hour would be plenty: just ask her about herself, tell her about myself, and - what I'd really like to do - explain to her the complexities of fate that have led to our passing each other on a side street in Harajuku on a beautiful April morning in 1981. This was something sure to be crammed full of warm secrets, like an antique clock build when peace filled the world. After talking, we'd have lunch somewhere, maybe see a Woody Allen movie, stop by a hotel bar for cocktails. With any kind of luck, we might end up in bed. Potentiality knocks on the door of my heart. Now the distance between us has narrowed to fifteen yards. How can I approach her? What should I say? "Good morning, miss. Do you think you could spare half an hour for a little conversation?" Ridiculous. I'd sound like an insurance salesman. "Pardon me, but would you happen to know if there is an all-night cleaners in the neighborhood?" No, this is just as ridiculous. I'm not carrying any laundry, for one thing. Who's going to buy a line like that? Maybe the simple truth would do. "Good morning. You are the 100% perfect girl for me." No, she wouldn't believe it. Or even if she did, she might not want to talk to me. Sorry, she could say, I might be the 100% perfect girl for you, but you're not the 100% boy for me. It could happen. And if I found myself in that situation, I'd probably go to pieces. I'd never recover from the shock. I'm thirty-two, and that's what growing older is all about. We pass in front of a flower shop. A small, warm air mass touches my skin. The asphalt is damp, and I catch the scent of roses. I can't bring myself to speak to her. She wears a white sweater, and in her right hand she holds a crisp white envelope lacking only a stamp. So: She's written somebody a letter, maybe spent the whole night writing, to judge from the sleepy look in her eyes. The envelope could contain every secret she's ever had. I take a few more strides and turn: She's lost in the crowd. Now, of course, I know exactly what I should have said to her. It would have been a long speech, though, far too long for me to have delivered it properly. The ideas I come up with are never very practical. Oh, well. It would have started "Once upon a time" and ended "A sad story, don't you think?" Once upon a time, there lived a boy and a girl. The boy was eighteen and the girl sixteen. He was not unusually handsome, and she was not especially beautiful. They were just an ordinary lonely boy and an ordinary lonely girl, like all the others. But they believed with their whole hearts that somewhere in the world there lived the 100% perfect boy and the 100% perfect girl for them. Yes, they believed in a miracle. And that miracle actually happened. One day the two came upon each other on the corner of a street. "This is amazing," he said. "I've been looking for you all my life. You may not believe this, but you're the 100% perfect girl for me." "And you," she said to him, "are the 100% perfect boy for me, exactly as I'd pictured you in every detail. It's like a dream." They sat on a park bench, held hands, and told each other their stories hour after hour. They were not lonely anymore. They had found and been found by their 100% perfect other. What a wonderful thing it is to find and be found by your 100% perfect other. It's a miracle, a cosmic miracle. As they sat and talked, however, a tiny, tiny sliver of doubt took root in their hearts: Was it really all right for one's dreams to come true so easily? And so, when there came a momentary lull in their conversation, the boy said to the girl, "Let's test ourselves - just once. If we really are each other's 100% perfect lovers, then sometime, somewhere, we will meet again without fail. And when that happens, and we know that we are the 100% perfect ones, we'll marry then and there. What do you think?" "Yes," she said, "that is exactly what we should do." And so they parted, she to the east, and he to the west. The test they had agreed upon, however, was utterly unnecessary. They should never have undertaken it, because they really and truly were each other's 100% perfect lovers, and it was a miracle that they had ever met. But it was impossible for them to know this, young as they were. The cold, indifferent waves of fate proceeded to toss them unmercifully. One winter, both the boy and the girl came down with the season's terrible inluenza, and after drifting for weeks between life and death they lost all memory of their earlier years. When they awoke, their heads were as empty as the young D. H. Lawrence's piggy bank. They were two bright, determined young people, however, and through their unremitting efforts they were able to acquire once again the knowledge and feeling that qualified them to return as full-fledged members of society. Heaven be praised, they became truly upstanding citizens who knew how to transfer from one subway line to another, who were fully capable of sending a special-delivery letter at the post office. Indeed, they even experienced love again, sometimes as much as 75% or even 85% love. Time passed with shocking swiftness, and soon the boy was thirty-two, the girl thirty. One beautiful April morning, in search of a cup of coffee to start the day, the boy was walking from west to east, while the girl, intending to send a special-delivery letter, was walking from east to west, but along the same narrow street in the Harajuku neighborhood of Tokyo. They passed each other in the very center of the street. The faintest gleam of their lost memories glimmered for the briefest moment in their hearts. Each felt a rumbling in their chest. And they knew: She is the 100% perfect girl for me. He is the 100% perfect boy for me. But the glow of their memories was far too weak, and their thoughts no longer had the clarity of fouteen years earlier. Without a word, they passed each other, disappearing into the crowd. Forever. A sad story, don't you think? Yes, that's it, that is what I should have said to her.    - Haruki Murakami

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'How to be Cool' by Jane Birkin & Serge Gainsbourg

I've been a little on the busy side ... and sans my baby (iMac), so the blog has experienced yet another hiatus from its scattered owner. I'll be back on track soon, but in the meantime let me leave you with a little tutorial on how to be cool by Jane Birkin & Serge Gainsbourg. 

The Selby Archives

Friday night with cheese & crackers, a can of James Boags and a sift through The Selby archives. If there is one thing that Stu has learnt about me, it is that I am a voyeur from way back. You wouldn't want to be in a hurry and walking down the street with me at nighttime when I can peer best into the homes of the creative North of the Yarra types! I'm a freak, I know.

Above are some of my faves. The last house is here in humble Richmond, and its true eye candy for the fellow organised-clutter obsessed.